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Leaving troubles behind

Matt Grimard, once an enigma to coaches and fans alike, making the most of a fresh start in W. Virginia

By David Pevear, dpevear@lowellsun.com

Updated:
11/17/2012 06:59:52 AM EST

He is rewriting the record book at Bethany (W. Va.) College, a small liberal arts school 40 miles southwest of Pittsburgh that has been playing football for more than 100 years.

That should come as no surprise to local high school football fans who saw Matt Grimard quarterback Dracut High to a Super Bowl title in 2008 and be named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. That season Grimard passed for 2,480 yards and 21 touchdowns and ran for 1,385 yards and 34 more touchdowns. He was almost an unstoppable force.

"The most physical quarterback ever to play in our area," says Jeff Moore, who coached the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Grimard his senior season at Dracut and is now defensive coordinator at Framingham State University. "It was like having Tim Tebow playing up here."

This part of the story, though, may come as a surprise. Before the Bethany Bison played Thomas More College earlier this month, Bethany sports information director Brian Rose asked head coach Tim Weaver who among the underclassmen had emerged as leaders. Standing tall in the coach's estimation was Grimard.

"We will continue to push him into being a more attention-to-detail guy," Weaver said about Grimard, a junior. "But his practice habits are very good, he's posted back-to-back 3.0 semesters (in the classroom) and he was over 3.3 at the midterm.

"He's doing the little things well now, which is good, because he wasn't when we first got him.

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That troubled kid, the one who first showed up in 2010 at a Division 3 school 630 miles from home seeking a fresh start, is the Matt Grimard many back home also remember. An enormous football talent who seemed determined to waste it.

In May 2009, Grimard was arrested in Lowell for allegedly assaulting his then-girlfriend at a party, a charge later dropped when she refused to testify against him.

In April 2010, he was arrested for breaking into a Dunstable home to steal alcohol, a charge that resulted in him receiving 14 months probation.

Then, in October 2010, Grimard was among seven Bethany College students charged in connection with a brawl at an off-campus party near Waynesburg (Pa.) University. Weaver says that court case has been closed without probation or further charges.

"We told him that was it," says Weaver. "I told him if his name came across my desk again, we were sending him home."

That edict was handed down two years ago.

All has been quiet since.

Except on the football field, where this fall Grimard led the Presidents' Athletic Conference and set school single-season records in passing yards (2,605), total offense (3,127 yards), completion percentage (62.1) and touchdown passes (23). He also rushed for 522 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was a first-team All-Conference selection.

"After everything that happened at home, when I got an opportunity to come here, my parents (Stephen and Lisa) and me thought it would be a good opportunity for a fresh start," says Grimard, 21. "Nobody here knew my background. The trouble I had here my freshman year was a (final) wake-up call to get my act together."

Before his first arrest in 2009, Grimard was headed to St. Anselm College to play Division 2 football for Pat Murphy, who also had coached Grimard at Dracut. Grimard wound up taking classes at Middlesex Community College.

Murphy called Weaver. The two had coached together at Harvard University on a staff that also included Bethany's offensive coordinator, Bill Garvey.

"Murph called and said he had a guy," says Weaver, "We looked through the whole situation. Matt paid his way to get down here, and did all the (necessary) work. We thought he was a good fit for us."

Football-wise, it was the Bison's offense that soon was re-fitted to accommodate Grimard's strength as a runner.

Character-wise, Grimard after his early misstep has grown to fit Weaver's demands.

"He had been a good player for us for two years," says Weaver. "This season he developed as a leader."

Grimard's academic major is social work.

"All the life situations I've been through. The passing of my sister (Samantha, 18, killed in a 2007 automobile crash that also claimed her boyfriend, Bryan Willet) and the troubles I've gotten into, hopefully someday maybe I can help people through similar situations," he says.

Grimard also wants to coach football.

"As far as football intellect, Matt knew that system we ran better than anyone I've ever coached," says Moore, his former high school coach.

Leading in every way

With one season of eligibility remaining, Grimard already is Bethany's all-time career leader in total offense (8,814 yards), passing yards (6,363), completions (523) and completion percentage (60.1). He has 51 career touchdown passes, one behind the school's all-time leader, and has rushed for 1,821 yards, seventh on Bethany's all-time list.

Now he seeks more victories. The Bison finished this season 3-7, with one overtime loss, two two-points losses and a four-point loss. "It's harder to lose like that than to get blown out," says Grimard.

Bethany finished 5-5 in each of Grimard's first two seasons, reaching .500 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 10 years.

When Grimard committed to St. Anselm in February 2009 , Moore famously said his former quarterback had the potential to someday be an NFL draft pick. Grimard appreciated the compliment and still dreams of such a shot at the NFL. But he says he did feel the pressure of enormous expectations.

"A lot of the people following (my career) were expecting such big things -- all you can do is disappoint," says Grimard. "Right now I'm focusing as much as I can on academics."

At a coaches clinic in Connecticut this past spring, Moore listened to a sales pitches for editing software for football video. The player breaking countless tackles on the demonstration video looked like a player Moore had once seen do that.

"Is that kid Grimard?" Moore asked.

"Turns out, the guy showing the system was one of Grimard's coaches (at Bethany)," says Moore. "I sat for two hours and watched. He was getting hit on every play. He took a million shots and kept on playing."

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